Japanese probe Hayabusa 2 lands on asteroid Ryugu again [video]

The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft, launched in December 2014 on a mission that was stipulated at 4 years, 9 months and 1 day, had its second contact with asteroid Ryugu video recorded by JAXA (Japan Space Agency). In order to collect rock samples to send them to Earth, this record occurred shortly before the end of their return to our planet in 2020.

In February 2019, the spacecraft made its first landing in Ryugu to collect materials from its surface. At this second moment, with a tantalum bullet blast mechanism, the probe "dug the surface" into small craters, and resources were successfully collected, although there is still no certainty as to what exactly may have been captured.

Even with an almost perfect landing on Ryugu's surface, as can be seen in the video below, it cannot be denied that the spacecraft had a hard time finding the perfect impact with sandy soil and height differences as the asteroid does not offer good landing conditions because of its small size.

A set of strategically installed cameras allowed the probe to be in contact with the rock, providing information essential to the success of the mission. Everything was followed and broadcast live on Space Videos.

After collecting resources during the second meeting, Hayabusa 2 will continue to orbit Ryugu for the remainder of the mission, collecting samples for an additional 1.5 years until its expected return to Earth.

Japanese probe Hayabusa 2 lands on asteroid Ryugu again [video] via TecMundo